Sylvester Stallone can act. There. I said it. And as ridiculous as that statement may appear to some readers, you really do owe it to yourself to take a look at "Cop Land," and see just how good of an actor Sylvester can be! Who would believe that Stallone could appear on the same screen as Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, and Robert De Niro, and hold his own? Certainly not this viewer, and I admit that when I originally went to see the film it was BECAUSE of Keitel, Liotta, and De Niro. So you can imagine just how surprised I was that Stallone wasn't blasted off the screen by the combined talent of his heavyweight co-stars.
Stallone plays "Sheriff Freddy Heflin," the law in the small, New Jersey town of Garrison, just across the George Washington Bridge. What makes Garrison special is that a large percentage of the residents are cops who work the other side of the bridge; hence the nick-name of "Cop Land." There are very few burglaries in Garrison, in fact, there is very little CRIME in Garrison period, so Freddy's days seem to be an endless round of completing paperwork for littering violations, cautioning the occasional drunk, and rescuing children's soft toys from being run over in the road.
This is a shame, because Freddy wants to be a REAL cop, he wants to work the other side of the bridge, but an injury sustained when he saved a women who's car ended up in the river has left him deaf in one ear. Poor Freddy would never pass the physical, but the town showed its appreciation by allowing him to be the Sheriff... kind-of a consolation prize.
But all is not well, there's something rotten in the town of Garrison, a corruption that's eating at the towns soul, and this corruption is personified in the character of "Ray Donlan," played by Keitel. When a fellow cop is involved in a questionable double homicide, Donlan initiates a cover-up that will have explosive consequences for the quiet town of Garrison, but especially for himself and Sheriff Heflin. The fall-out will also engulf the Sheriff's best friend, "Gary Figgis," played by Ray Liotta, another "real" cop, but one who's sick of the corruption and is getting out. Also involved is IAD staffer "Lt. Moe Tilden," played by De Niro, who's been tracking Donlan and his team, and is determined to bring them down.
This is an excellent ensemble cast that really shines in their roles, and Stallone, as I said before, is a revelation. He piled on about 40lbs to play the part, so what we see is not the pumped-up, testosterone driven action man we have come to know and love, but a quieter, humbler, slightly "slow," kind-a bumbling character. Sad and ineffectual, he's barely tolerated by Donlan and his cronies, who's company he so desperately wants to keep.
The story is tight and economical, the dialogue has the ring of authenticity to it, and there's a bitter-sweet romantic sub-plot between Freddy and one of the town's residents that works perfectly within the story. There's a scene where he's asked, by the woman he secretly loves, why he didn't marry, "All the best girls were taken," he replies, and you can practically see the big guy's heart breaking in two!
Don't be put off because Stallone has top billing, this is an excellent film that works on many levels, with a clutch of superbly realistic performances driven by a well constructed story, I would recommend it highly.
Its the best dramatic performance by Sly he's ever done. He plays a pathetic wanna be cop who idolizes
the real cops around him who he knows are corrupt and don't take him seriously.
Then he's approached by an internal affairs cop ( played by De Niro) and asked to help bust the corrupt cops.
Its been said that the mark of a good actor is when you can
look at his face and tell what he's thinking.
Anybody who ever wondered if Sly is a real actor and not just a movie star like Arnold should see this.
A great movie with a great cast with a real story about trust, betrayal and redemption.
A must see.......
Buy Cop Land (Collector's Series) (1997) Now
Cop Land is a homage to police corruption films like Sidney Lumet's Serpico and Prince of the City. In many respects, Cop Land is also a modern western, complete with a High Noon-style showdown. Miramax previously released this film on a movie-only DVD. This new version is a huge improvement but is it worth the upgrade?Definitely.
"Cop Land: The Making of an Urban Western" is an excellent retrospective featurette. Stallone to be interested in the role but the actor wanted to something different, to go back to his starving actor roots. After him, came De Niro and then everyone else followed.
Next, there is a "Storyboard Comparison" that allows one to watch part of the film's climatic shoot-out simultaneously with the storyboards for it.
There are two deleted scenes with optional commentary.
Rounding out the extras is a solid audio commentary with director James Mangold, producer Cathy Konrad and actors Sylvester Stallone and Robert Patrick. Not surprisingly, Mangold and Stallone dominate this track. Stallone comes across as a very humble and gracious guy. Mangold keeps everyone talking, acting as an informal moderator and asking everyone questions. This is a really good track and definitely worth a listen if you're a fan of this movie.
Cop Land features a killer cast and allows them to flex their acting chops with a top-notch screenplay. This DVD is a definite improvement over the previous bare bones edition and is worth the upgrade. Miramax has finally done this film justice with an excellent special edition.
Read Best Reviews of Cop Land (Collector's Series) (1997) Here
This is a terrific cop flick and crime drama with a glittering cast. And, this brand new blu ray release is far superior to the Canadian blue ray release of a few years ago. The print has been scrubbed of all artifacts and blemishes. Well done!Want Cop Land (Collector's Series) (1997) Discount?
Cop land looks great on blu ray.This film is very underrated.I was very pleased with the picture quality of this blu ray.Save 47% Off
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